Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday cleared his stance on his and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s retirement.
“…I never said I will retire or someone should retire,” he said, responding to a question on whether the RSS believed people in constitutional posts should retire at 75.
“In Sangh, we are given a job, whether we want it or not. If I am 80 years old, and Sangh says go and run a ‘shakha’, I will have to do it. We do whatever the Sangh tells us to do…This is not for anyone’s retirement. We are ready to retire or work – as long as the Sangh wants us to,” Bhagwat said in an event in Delhi,” he added.
#WATCH | Delhi | On the question of ‘Should Indian leaders retire at the age of 75 years’, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says, “…I never said I will retire or someone should retire. In Sangh, we are given a job, whether we want it or not. If I am 80 years old, and Sangh says go and… pic.twitter.com/p8wq03IKYj
— ANI (@ANI) August 28, 2025
Bhagwat’s clarification came after one of his comments at a book launch event in July triggered a political row when he recalled an old RSS meeting where senior leader Moropant Pingle was felicitated at 75. He quoted him as saying, “When a shawl is draped at the age of 75, it means you have grown old, just move aside, let us do it.”
On question of if a married person can head the outfit, Bhagwat said there is no such bar but the person “needs to devote all his time to the organisation.”
On BJP-RSS ‘Difference’
Bhagwat also responded to a question whether there are any differences between the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying there is “no quarrel anywhere.”
“We are having good coordination with every government, both state govts and central govts. But there are systems which have some internal contradictions. The system in general is the same, which was invented by the British so that they can rule,” said the RSS chief.
“So, we have to have some innovations. Then, we want something to happen. Even if the man in the chair is 100% for us, he has to do it, and knows what the hurdles are. He may or may not be able to do it. We have to give him that independence. There is no quarrel anywhere…,” he added.
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